ADHD drugs don’t work? Controversial title, right? The topic of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has received a lot of debate in recent years. The treatment is with drugs. Those who are for the treatment call it a breakthrough whilst many argue it is unnecessarily medicated. I’m no psychologist or medical professional, but I’m fairly sure at school, I’d have been diagnosed with ADHD. Teachers always reported I had the concentration span of a goldfish, that I disrupted the class and one teacher reported that I was so laid back about work I was almost horizontal. Whilst I found that hilarious, you can guess who didn’t.

If you’re a sufferer of ADHD, or if someone close to you suffers from ADHD then these ways to focus with ADHD are a worthwhile read. Focusing on one task at a time, without getting distracted is difficult enough at the best of times, but when you have ADHD, the distraction factor is intensified. It’s easy to get mentally involved in the next task without completing the one in hand and by the end of the day, you wonder what you’ve achieved. Here is a simple technique written for Psychology Today by Mark Bertin which may just help not only those who suffer from ADHD, but also those who simply struggle to focus.

Learning to STOP

To create this pause, practice the acronym ‘STOP’ with each transition. Before getting up from the table, leaving your desk, or shifting your activity at any time during the day:

Stop what you’re doing.

Take a few breaths.

Observe what’s going on for you, internally and externally.

Pick what would be best to do next.

Having paused and checked in, what would it take to finish what you started? With children, you might even review the three steps before beginning a task. Take out the milk and a glass. Pour and drink the milk. And then . . . step three, put milk in the fridge and the glass in the dishwasher. Check the assignment pad, finish the homework. And then . . . put it in the backpack. Create reminders to STOP over and over again through the day. Eventually this pause in transitioning becomes a habit, consistently getting you and your child from point A to point C—a complete and well-considered conclusion.

These ways to focus with ADHD are helpful to me, and I don’t think I have ADHD. I’ve certainly not been diagnosed with it anyway. Occasionally I get to the end of the day and wonder what on earth I’ve achieved but I think that’s fairly commonplace. What I have found really helpful, is planning the following day, the day before, setting myself allocated time slots for each task (with a timer) and removing all distractions (social media, phone, emails). Exercise is also an absolute godsend when it comes to focusing and also alleviating stress.

Procrastination weaves its evil tricks at the best of times, but when you suffer from ADHD, it’s even easier to procrastinate and allow yourself to succumb to distractions. This is an alternative approach to focus with ADHD written by David D. Nowell, Ph.D For Psychology Today. According to Dr Nowell, those who suffer from ADHD have lower density of dopamine receptors than those who do not suffer from ADHD and since dopamine is responsible for reward and motivation, those who suffer from ADHD tend to struggle to maintain concentration with boring tasks and often seek attention from others.

An Alternative Approach To Focusing With ADHD

And these longer term goals can be broken down into daily step by step action items. Some of those to-do items are not fun, and are not easy. And as we approach boring or hard tasks our brains begin to scan the environment for something—anything—more immediately and intrinsically rewarding.

At my ADHD workshops for clinicians and teachers I suggest that there’s no such thing as procrastination. There’s just choosing. And choosing again. That moment by moment choosing is the “stuff” of longer-term goal attainment. If you know anyone with an academic degree, a savings account, a healthy body, or a relationship that’s lasted longer than three weeks, give them (or yourself) a pat on the back! That goal required day-by-day, decision-by-decision commitment to a mental picture in which you believed, and towards which you strived—even when it wasn’t fun or easy.

Our brains are wired for just this type of visualization and sequencing and “stick-to-it-iveness.” But it’s not easy, and we’re surrounded by seductive distractions. And people with ADD/ADHD are at particular risk of being seduced off-task.

An alternative approach to focusing with ADHD such as visualization of your goals is thought provoking, not just for those with ADHD, but for non sufferers too. Developing a mental image of your goal using sensory detail, together with affirmations is often advised in a few books I’ve read recently. The penultimate paragraph of advice was poignant:

When you see me struggle with dull or difficult tasks, help me “connect the dots.” Remind me of why I’m doing this and what the payoff will be for me. Describe for me in vivid sensory detail (the smells, the visuals, the feelings) what it will be like for me once I’ve attained that goal.

Whether you’ve been diagnosed with ADHD or you simply struggle to focus, these focusing tips for adult ADHD sufferers are a gainful read. I have excerpted part of an interview, conducted by Stephanie Sarkis, Ph.D for The Huffington Post who is interviewing psychologist, Dr Ari Tuckman, Psy.D., MBA. He specialises in the diagnosis and treatment of children, teens, and adults with ADHD, anxiety, and depression.

Focusing Tips For Adult ADHD Sufferers

In your book More Attention, Less Deficit, your chapter on nonmedical treatment includes the phrase “pills don’t teach skills.” Could you explain what that means?

Medication is often an effective treatment for ADHD, but suddenly being better able to focus your attention doesn’t mean that you know how to prioritize your to-do list or organize your desk. The medication can set a good foundation wherein the person can do a better job of learning and applying these good habits. It’s similar to how wearing glasses doesn’t give you better driving skills, but it does enable you to use those skills more effectively.

I really liked the title of one of the subsections in Chapter 8: “I’m Only Getting Treatment to Shut You People Up”. Could you give some suggestions as to how a family member could address the possibility of ADHD with someone they love?

Speak from the perspective of what you see and how you feel that it is making the person’s life harder. Focus on the things that are important to this person (such as, “you lost your brand new cell phone”) rather than what is important to you and that you feel should be important to them (such as, getting better grades in college). It may also help to let your actions speak louder than your words, by not covering up for the person’s ADHD moments. Let them feel the pain more because that is what will give them the incentive to work on it.

What are three tips that an adult with ADHD could implement today?

Get rid of some stuff that you don’t need (which is a lot more than we think). The less stuff you have, the easier it is to find what you need when you need it.

Start setting alarms to remind you of important times or appointments.

I think anyone can make use of these focusing tips for adult ADHD sufferers. It’s interesting how medication is not necessarily regarded as the best solution for ADHD. Medication may provide a temporary solution but never addresses the route cause. And who wants to take medication for the rest of their lives? Surely that can’t be good for anyone.

If your child has been diagnosed with ADHD, then these simple tips for parents of children With ADHD written by licensed counselor, Shannon Anderson, for the South East Missourian may be worth a read.

Tips For Parents Of Children With ADHD

Play board games that require attention to detail such as Battleship or Memory. Encourage your child to slow down and model how to think through a move, etc. in order to not only do better in the game but also reduce impulsive decision making.

Another important tip for parents of an ADHD child is to make time to be outdoors as often as possible. Take a nature walk, play a ball game, anything like this is a great way for the child to utilize some of the excess energy that develops while sitting in class for a good part of the day. If done immediately after school, before homework time, I can assure you that when homework time does come it will be a lot more bearable for both the parent and the child!

These tips for parents of children with ADHD are in line with other articles I have read on ADHD. Whilst I am no expert on ADHD, I think Sir Ken Robinson, Creativity Expert and Author of The Element, makes some excellent points about ADHD in this thought provoking clip:

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